Room air conditioner having vent control means



g- 1960 s. E. ROSE ET Al. 2,950,667

ROOM AIR CONDITIONER HAVING VENT CONTROL MEANS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ INVENTOR.

STANLEY E. recs: & ELMEF 5. H21 M o THEIR ATTORNEY Aug. 30, 1960 s. E. ROSE ETAL ,950,

ROOM AIR CONDITIONER HAVING VENT CONTROL MEANS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'TG. 2

INVENTOR. STANLEY E. R05: 8 ELMIER E. uauvao aw/W THER ATTORNEY United States ROOM AIR CONDITIONER HAVING VEN CONTROL MEANS Stanley E. Rose, Lyndon, Ky., and Elmer E. Heimo, Erie,

Pa., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 20, 1957, Ser. No; 685,264

3 Claims. (Cl. 98-94) The present invention relates to a room air conditioning unit and is more specifically directed to the air flow control mechanism for adjusting the air flow through the vent generally associated with such units.

Room air conditioners normally comprise a compressor, condenser, and evaporator connected in refrigerant flow relationship and arranged within a suitable housing which is mounted in a window or aperture leading to the outside and which is divided into at least two separate compartments. The evaporator is mounted within an inner compartment adjacent the room and room air is blown through this compartment over the evaporator where it is cooled and de-humidified before being discharged back into the room. The compressor and condenser are normally mounted in an outer compartment through which outside air is circulated for cooling the compressor and condenser. Many conditioners provide vents or apertures in the barriers dividing the housing into separate compartments through which fresh air may be introduced from the outside into the room and through which stale air from the room may be exhausted. Numerous controlling linkages and arrangements have heretofore been provided for controlling the flow of air through the vents in the barrier, but, for the most part, they have been very complicated and costly to manufacture.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanism for controlling the air flow through an air vent of a room air conditioner which is of extremely simple construction and which may be cheaply manufactured.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a damper controlling means for the vent aperture of an air conditioner unit including a new and improved detent means for maintaining the controlling means in a particular position.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

According to the present invention there is provided a room air conditioner having a housing divided by' an interior barrier into inner, or indoor, and outer, or outdoor, compartments. The evaporator or cooling means of the conditioner is mounted in the inner compartment and the condenser unit is mounted in the outer compartment. Air moving means are provided in both compartments for circulating streams of air therethrough. In order to obtain flow of air between one compartment and the other, thereby obtaining exhaust or venting of air from or to the room, a vent or aperture is provided in the barrier. To control the flow of air through the aperture, a damper is provided which is movable from a fully closed position to a fully open position by an operating rod extending obliquely toward the front of the unit and connecting with a slider assembly mounted in a slot in the front of the housing. The slot is ofiset from a position directly in front of the aperture. For providing detent action during movement of the slider assembly within the slot to move the operating rod and' thereby the damper to its various positions, there are provided a plurality of projections on the side of the slot most remote from the aperture. By a resilient means, which continually biases the damper against the operating rod thereby forcing the operating rod, and, in turn, the slider assembly in a direction away from the aperture, the slider assembly is forced to ride against the side of the slot containing the aforesaid projections and is thereby maintained in one of a plurality of positions by the locking force between one of the projections and the lower portion of the slider assembly.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation view of an air conditioner in cross section showing the various components therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevation view taken along line 2-2 with portions of the conditioner broken away to show the baffle and the controlling linkage;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the slider assembly and operating rod in relation to the slot in the front panel;

Fig. 4 is a partial front elevation view showing the slot and slider assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a self-contained room air conditioner having a housing 2 adapted for mounting in a window or other aperture of a room to be conditioned. The space within the housing is divided by a barrier 3 into two compartments designated the inner or evaporator compartment -4 and the outer or condensing compartment 6. The housing is normally positioned within a window such that the inner compartment 4 is adjacent the room to be conditioned and the outer compartment 6 projects toward the outside.

Within the outer compartment 6 of the conditioner there is positioned the refrigeration condensing unit of the conditioner. This condensing unit comprises a refrigeration compressor 7 and a condenser 8 connected together by means of a compressor exhaust line (not shown). A condenser fan or air moving means 11 is mounted in the lower part of the outer compartment 6 and pulls a stream of air from the outside through the grille 12 into the outer compartment and passes it upwardly over the condenser 8 for cooling the condenser and discharges it through the grille 13 in the rear of the housing. The fan 11 is driven by a motor 14 mounted in the barrier 3 which divides the housing into two separate compartments.

In order to cool or condition the air within the room, there is provided within the inner compartment 4 an evaporator 16 positioned in the upper portion of the compartment and connected in refrigerant flow relationship with the compressor 7 and the condenser 8. Air is drawn from within the room through the inlet grille 17 by an evaporator fan or air moving means 18 positioned in the lower portion of the inner compartment '4. In the present illustration of the invention, the evaporator fan 18 is driven by the motor 14 which also drives the compressor fan 11. However, it is not absolutely essential that the evaporator fan be driven by the same motor that drives the compressor fan and it would be possible to use the separate motor for this purpose. The air stream is drawn into the evaporator compartment 4 from the room and passes upwardly adjacent the barrier 3 through the evaporator 1-6 and is dis- V venting structure.

7 charged through the opening 19. r

' only to be illustrative of the type of air conditioner to which the invention may be adapted. As will now be explained the invention deals with venting structure and the linkage and control mechanism incorporated therewith for selectively adjusting the flow of air through the v In order to exhaust ,stale'air from within the room to the outside and to bring in fresh air from the outside to an aperture or vent 21 in the barrier which permits the flow of'air between the two separate compartments. In

7 the illustrative embodiment of the invention, the aperture i be mixed with the recirculated room air, there is provided there'is provided a controlling means in the form of a damper 22 which is mounted in relation to the aperture 21 such that its movement controls the flow of air through the aperture. More specifically, the damper 22 is hingedly attached to the barrier 3. just above the aperture 21 by a pair of tabs (not shown), which are formed as an integral part of the damper 22, and which extend through holes formed in an outwardly extending hinge section 24 attached to'the barrier 3 just above the aperture. Attached to theunderside face of the damper 22 is a res'ilient gasket 25 which, when the damper is in the closed position, seals the aperture 21 thereby preventing; air flow 'therethrough. The gasket 25 also serves the purpose of deadening the noise which sometimes results during closing of the damper. The damper is arranged such that it pivots or swings. into the outer compartment 6 to open the aperture thereby permitting flow'of air either from the inner compartment to the outer compartment or from the outer compartment to the inner compartment as Will hereinafter betexplained. t

For venting the fresh air which flows through the outer compartment into the inner compartment and thereupon into the enclosure, the damper need only be moved to its open position, whereupon it swings out toward the support member 26 of the condenser 3 and directsthe air stream flowing upwardly along the barrier from the condenser 'fan 11 into the aperture 21. This air is intermingled with 'the air'flowing through the evaporator compartment 4 and then is passed through the evaporator 16 and discompartment 6. During normal operation, the condenser fan 11 draws air inwardly through the lower portion of the outer compartment 6, or more specifically through the grille 12, and passes it upwardly along the barrier 3 through the condenser 8 and discharges it outside through the outlet grille 13. With the'air flowing through the 4 by the same motor 14, reversing of the motor will also cause the evaporator fan to rotate in the opposite direction. When this is the case, the design of the evaporator fan 18 should be such that it moves very little air when operating in the reverse direction. With the condenser fan 11 turning in the reverse direction, the air pressure in the inner compartment above the fan '18 and motor 14 is such that room air is drawn through the air discharge grille 19 thence through the air inlet grille 17, since the evaporator fan 18 is designed such that it oifers little opposition to air flow in that direction, and through the in the open position adjacent the support member '26,

and is discharged through the grille 12.

In order to operate the damper 22 to provide the necessary air flow requirements for exhausting stale air from within the room and for introducing the fresh air from the outside into the room, there is provided an operating means including a control rod or operating rod 27 which, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, extends obliquely downwardly and to the left within the inner compartment. The operating rod 27 connects at one end to the damper by means of a reversely bent portion 28 which extends through the hole 20 in the damper. The operating rod 27 is provided with a shoulder 15, seen best in Fig. 5, which abuts the side of the damper facing the inner. compartment 4 and prevents the operating rod from slipping through the hole. As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 5, there is a loose fit between the hole 20 of the damper and the reverselyibent portion 28 of the rod. Upward movement of the rod, or the end of the rod adjacent the damper, causes the damper to swing outwardly into thecondenser compartment 6 around the hinge section 24. The length of the rod and its oblique arrangement within'the inner compartment 4 permits slight flexing of the rod '27 in'its-upward path to allow rotation of the damper around the hinge section 24. The other end of the operating rod connects with a slider assembly 729 which is mounted in the control panel '31 forming a part of the front of the housing. The slider assembly 29 is arranged to move to a plurality of positions within a slot 32 formed (best seen in Figs. 3 and 4) in the control panel 31; In the illustrated arrangement, the hole :20 of the damper, or the point of connection between the rod 27 and the damper, is further away from lower end of the slot than from the upper end of the slot so that upward movement of the slider in the .slot causes the operating rod 27 to move the damper 22 to a plurality of positions ranging from a fully. closed position to a fully 7 open position.

i aperture 21 from the inner compartment 4 to the outer outer compartment 6'in this direction, exhausting of air I through the aperture 21 from the inner'compartment 4 to the outer compartment 6 is difficult to obtain. To remedy this and cause the airstrearn inrthe outer comdirection.

means mounted on the front of the housing. The condenser fan 11 is designed such that it moves air in the 1 reverse direction almost equally as well as it does when rotating in the normal direction.

As may be seen in Fig. 3 the operating rod 27 connects with the slider assembly in a manner such that the operating rod. touches at two different points on the slider assembly; More specifically, the slider assembly is formed of a main part 33 having a necked down end 33w which fits through a grooved slider 30 upon which the entire assembly slides within the slot 32. The grooved slider 30 is preferably made of some'pla sticmaterial, such as nylon, which facilitates the sliding action within the slot 32. The

slider 30 is grooved and rides within the slot 32'with The main part 33 of'the slider assembly is provided with the necked down end 33a which extends through a hole a in the slider 30 and atthe other end is provided with an angularly disposed portion 34 which is bent at approxi- When, as in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, 7

mately.9.0 to the main part 33. 'A pair of holes 35 and 36 areprovided respectively in the main part 33 and the angularly disposed portion 34 'ofthe slider assembly through which the operating rod is passed. The operating rod 27 is provided with an end portion 37 arranged to extend through the hole 35 and bent at approximately 90 to a section 38 of the rod which is positioned parallel to the main part 33 of the slider assembly and which extends through the hole 36 in the angularly disposed portion 34 of the assembly.

An operating knob 39 is provided on the end 33a of the slider assembly for moving the assembly upwardly or downwardly in the slot 32 for operation of the damper and thereby control the flow of air through the aperture. Thus, upon movement of the knob 39 upwardly within a slot 32, the operating rod 27 is forced to move upwardly and the end connected to the damper 22 is forced to move into the aperture 21 thereby pivoting the damper into the open position. The particular amount by which the damper is pivoted depends upon the precise position of the slider assembly 29. A plurality of positions are provided for the slider assembly whereby the damper may be openedaccordingly.

In order to provide detent action and to give feel to the operation of the slider assembly 29 and to hold the slider assembly in position after it has been moved upwardly into any of a number of positions, there are provided a plurality of projections 41 on the side 42 of the slot 32 which lies most remote from the aperture 21. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, since the slot 32 is offset on the front panel to the left of a point directly in front of the aperture, the side 42, or the left hand side of the slot 32, when looking at the conditioner from the front is the most remote from the aperture. Connected between the damper 22 and a portion of the supporting structure for the evaporator is a resilient means or damper spring 43 which exerts a force upon the damper toward the operating rod at all times. The combination of the damper spring 43, which biases the damper into a closed position, and the projections 41 provide detent action for the operation of the slider assembly. More specifically, since the damper is biased toward a closed position, the operating rod 27 is continually forced in the direction of the inner compartment 4, and since the operating rod 27 extends obliquely into the compartment, at least a component of this force is transmitted along the rod generally in the direction of the slider assembly 29 and this component of force urges the slider assembly toward the side 42 of the slot 32 most remote from the aperture 21. As may be seen in Fig. 2, the operating rod is forced to the left and this in turn forces the slider assembly to the left whereupon movement of the slider assembly within the slot 32 is necessarily along the side 42. As may be seen in Figs. 3 and 4 the movement of the slider assembly in the upwardly direction along the side 42 will place the assembly into one of a number of positions falling generally between the projections 41. By properly forming of the projections 41, it is possible to permit ease of movement in the upward direction but prevent movement in the downward direction without first forcing the slider assembly to the right against the action of the damper spring 43. Thus, as may be seen in Fig. 4, by providing a series of saw-toothed shaped projections 41 the slider assembly is prevented, after once being placed into position, from moving downwardly out this position until it is released by manually pushing the whole assembly to the right and downwardly.

By the present invention there has been provided a simplified and easily manufactured damper controlling arrangement for controlling the flow of air through the vent of a room air conditioner. Moreover, this damper controlling arrangement is provided with a new and improved detent action for maintaining the damper in a particular position.

While in accordance with the patent statutes there has been described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and 6 modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and it is, therefore, the aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an air conditioning unit including a housing divided by a barrier into inner and outer compartments, the combination comprising an aperture in said barrier for permitting the flow of air from one compartment to the other, a damper positioned across said aperture, hinge means along one edge of said aperture of said barrier for pivotally connecting said damper across said aperture for controlling the flow of air therethrough, said housing having a vertical slot in the front thereof, said vertical slot' being horizontally ofiset from a position directly in front of said aperture in said barrier, a slider arranged within said slot for vertical movement therein, said slider having grooves on opposite sides thereof and having end portions abutting the front and rear faces of said front of said housing thereby to confine the movement of said slider to the vertical length of said slot, an operating rod extending obliquely between said slider and said damper and having one end connected to said damper and the other end connected to said slider so that movement of said slider from one end of said slot to the other causes said operating rod to move said damper from a fully closed position to a fully open position, said connecting point of said rod and said damper being further away from one edge of said vertical slot than from the other edge of said slot, detent means for retaining said slider and thereby said damper in one of a plurality of positions comprising a plurality of projections on the edge of said slot most remote from said aperture, and a resilient means for continually biasing said damper against said operating rod thereby forcing said operating rod towards said slider whereby, due to said offset position of said slot, said slider is forced to ride against the side of said slot most remote from said aperture and is maintained in one of a plurality of positions by the locking force between one of said projections and the lower portion of said slider.

2. In an air conditioning unit including a housing divided by a barrier into inner and outer compartments, the combination comprising an aperture in said barrier for permitting the flow of air from one compartment to the other, a damper positioned across said aperture, hinge means along one edge of said aperture of said barrier for pivotally connecting said damper on the side of said barrier facing said outer compartment, said housing having a vertical slot in front thereof, said vertical slot being horizontally offset from a position directly in front of said aperture in said barrier, a slider arranged within said slot for vertical movement within said slot, said slider having grooves on opposite sides thereof and having end portions abutting the front and rear faces of the front of said housing thereby to confine the movement of said slider to the vertical length of said slot, an operating rod extending obliquely between said slider and said damper and having one end connected to said damper and the other end connected to said slider so that movement of said slider from the lower end of said slot to the upper end causes said operating rod to move into said aperture and swing said damper from a fully closed position to a fully open position, said connecting point of said rod and said damper being further away from one edge of said vertical slot than the other edge of said slot, detent means for retaining said slider and thereby said damper in one of a plurality of positions comprising a plurality of sawtooth shaped projections on the side of said slot most remote from said aperture, and a damper spring for continually biasing said damper toward a closed position thereby urging said operating rod toward said slider so that said slider is forced by said operating rod to ride against the side of said slot containing said saw-tooth projections whereby said slider-must be .forceably moved toward the other side of said slot before being moved in a downward direction. V 3. .In an air conditioning unit including a housing divided by a barrier into inner and outer compartments, the combination comprising an aperture in said barrier for permitting the flow of air from one compartment to the other, a damper positioned across said aperture, hinge means connecting said damper to said barrier along one edge of said aperture .on the side of said barrier facing said outer compartment, a front panel on the front of said housing having a vertical slottherein, said slot being horizontally oifsetfrom a position directly in front of said aperture, agrooved nylon slider movable vertically with said slot and'having end portions abutting the front a and rear faces of said front panel thereby to confine the slider and said damper assembly so that movement of said slider from the lower end of said slot to the upper end causes said operating rod to move into saidaperture and swing said damper from a fully closed position to a fully open position, detent means for retaining said slider assembly and thereby said damper. in one of .a plurality'of positions comprisinga plurality of saw-tooth shaped pro-. jections on the side of said slot most remote from said aperture, said saw-tooth shaped projections arranged to permit sliding of said slider assembly only during its movement in the upward direction, a damper spring for con-, tinnously biasing said damper toward a closed position thereby urging said operating rodf toward said slider and forcing said slider to ride against the side of said slot containing said saw-tooth projections whereby said slider must be forceably moved toward the other side of said 15' slot before being moved in a downward direction.

2569,841 Whitefield Oct. 2, 1951 2,711,088 'Hess June 21, 1955 

